President-elect Donald Trump vowed to work with Congress to pass a bill implementing reciprocal trade protections with other nations as part of his economic plan.
The bill called the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act would empower the president to impose reciprocal tariffs on goods from foreign countries if those countries’ tariffs on American-made goods are higher than the tariff imposed by the U.S.
In addition, the bill would authorize the president to negotiate tariff reductions on foreign goods if foreign countries agree to reduce their tariffs on American-made goods.
The president-elect said the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act would work to put “America First” by returning overseas jobs and wealth to the U.S. and strengthening industry in the U.S. by ending the nation’s dependence on China and other countries – which Trump noted will “launch an economic boom” that will lift the U.S. middle class.
Trump added that the passage of the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act would be an “additional tool,” along with his planned universal baseline tariffs, to “shrink the trade deficit” and “restore a level playing field for American businesses worldwide.”
“Under the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, other countries will have two choices—they’ll get rid of their tariffs on us, or they will pay us hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will make an absolute FORTUNE. There will be no more unilateral economic surrender like we’ve done for many many decades,” Trump explained in a campaign video posted in June 2023.
“We have been a country that was disrespected on trade, and frankly, disrespected on just about everything. No more,” Trump added.
Trump’s advocacy for reciprocal trade began during his first presidential term, where he urged Congress in 2019 to pass a similar bill called the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Donald Trump.
